


Dress

by thegetawaycar



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-10
Updated: 2018-10-10
Packaged: 2019-06-08 12:31:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15243453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thegetawaycar/pseuds/thegetawaycar
Summary: Beth Greene is a singer - a young, beautiful Hollywood starlet; a household name with a wholesome, good-girl image, and a reputation (and a brand) to uphold.Daryl Dixon is a boxer - eight years her senior and not as well-known, his own reputation by nature depends on violence, determination and an awful lot of trash-talking.The unlikely couple are head-over-heels for one another, but nobody can know.Especially not their management teams.





	1. indentation

**Author's Note:**

> 'Dress - Taylor Swift' gave me all the Bethyl feels that inspired this story.

_our secret moments in a crowded room_  
_they’ve got no idea about me and you_  
_there is an indentation in the shape of you_  
_made your mark on me, a golden tattoo_

.  
.  
  
.  


“That sounds good.”

Beth had been absent-mindedly humming along to the song that she was currently writing – one that just wouldn’t leave her in peace at the minute – whilst she had been checking over her finished hair and make-up. Her eyes widened in surprise at her stylist’s comment, and she quickly made eye contact with the older woman in the mirror that spanned the length of one of her dressing room walls.

“Thanks,” Beth responded with a small shrug of her shoulders a polite smile resting on her lips before she returned her attention back to her appearance and reached forward to the jewellery box that held the new pair of golden earrings that she had been gifted especially for the event.

From her peripheral, Beth could see her older sister – and manager – Maggie quirk a brow and offer her a questioning look. “New song?” the brunette asked, and Beth simply nodded as she removed the earrings from the box. “Is it about anyone in particular?” she probed, and Beth could hear the struggle in Maggie’s tone as she attempted to sound casual.

Resisting the urge to look over to her sister – mostly out of fear that the brunette would be able to read straight through her – Beth shrugged her shoulders once more as she clipped the back of earrings into place. “Nope,” she said, emphasising the ‘p’. “It’s not even got any real words, yet. It’s… a work in progress. I guess.”

Maggie hummed gently, and the sound told Beth that her older sister was unconvinced. “If you say so, Bethy,” Maggie breathed, and the blonde just _knew_ that she was anything but finished with her. Recently, Maggie had been getting awfully interested in her personal life – _way_ more interested than usual. “C’mon,” the older of the two said after a few beats of silence, hopping down from where she had been perched on one of the stools in the dressing room. “Our cars will be here any minute.”

Letting out a nervous breath, Beth nodded her hair once whilst her stylist applied a final coating of hair-spray to her freshly curled tresses. When she was finished, Beth hopped down from her own stool and straightened out the abdominal area of her golden ballgown, watching as Maggie stepped into her crimson shoes.

Beth turned towards one side and checked over her appearance one final time before she moved to put on her own heels.

Once the two girls had reached the bottom of the staircase, Maggie gave her younger sister a tight squeeze around the shoulders. “You look beautiful,” the brunette said, and Beth couldn’t have fought the smile that spread across her face even if she wanted to. Maggie was smiling, too; but the look on her face softened slightly. “Daddy would be so proud of you, you know.”

Swallowing down the lump that swelled in her throat at the mere mention of their father, Beth felt as though she could do absolutely nothing except nod her head in agreement. “I know,” she said, her voice hoarse and dry and not much louder than a whisper.

Before the two girls moved towards the front door, Maggie gave Beth one more tight squeeze, and the blonde breathed in deeply and willed herself not to cry or become overwhelmed by emotion.

Not tonight.

Two white limousines were awaiting the sisters at the bottom of the steps that led up to Beth’s house, and a nervous sigh escaped from Beth’s lips when they reached the cars. Maggie had always insisted that they arrive separately to events like these – her argument being that Beth’s role as a woman in the public eye was to walk the red carpet, engage with interviewers and pose for photographs; whereas Maggie’s role as her manager was to do none of those things, and merely meet her inside the venue.

Although it often felt like it should be second nature for her after all of the events that she has been to and how long she has been in the public eye – since the day of her sixteenth birthday, when she signed her first record deal – it was anything _but_ , and Beth felt nothing but anxious until she left the flashing lights and shouting reporters behind.

With one final reassuring look, Maggie stepped into her vehicle, leaving Beth to walk to hers. Although the blonde was unable to overhear what was being said between Maggie and her driver – a man called Glenn, whom Maggie had personally requested more often than not recently – but she could tell by the grin that spread across her sister’s face that it was something flattering, to say the least. Beth fought a smile of her own at the thought of her older sister being smitten with her driver before she ducked into her limousine, thanking the driver for holding and then closing her door.

.

.

.

_all of this silence and patience, pining and anticipation_  
_my hands are shaking from holding back from you_  
_all of this silence and patience, pining and desperately waiting_  
_my hands are shaking from all of this_

It’s the screaming that she struggles to deal with.

If she is being completely honest, the flashing lights aren’t _too_ bad. They’re anything but pleasant, sure; and they’re irritating in that they are pretty much blinding.

But they’re still nowhere near as bad as the screams.

And there’s a difference in the type of screams that she hears, too. The screams and cheers and cries of a crowd when she finishes a song, when she finishes a set – it’s just _different_ , and she loves it. Thrives on it, almost. It’s an addictive, beautiful sound that brings happiness and fulfilment and a desire for more with it. It’s a sound that Beth is sure she will never tire of; a sound that makes her jaw ache from beaming, a sound that causes all of the hairs on her body to stand alert and tears to sparkle in her eyes at the beauty of it all.

The screams and shouts on a red carpet are yet again different.

It’s mostly the reporters and their crew who are hollering at her to make her way over towards them so that they can ask what will most likely be borderline-offensive questions that focus on her personal life. Not that they know much about what is going on with her at the minute – Beth has learned over time to hold anything that she wants to be _hers_ close to her chest, and not to share them with others.

They never really ask about her work, her music, her _art_.

The golden ballgown that she is wearing is truly beautiful. It is. It’s tightly fitted to her slender figure in the most flattering way; with an A-line neck, lace arms and golden flower embellishments that are sprinkled around her upper half and gather at the bottom of the skirt. So Beth doesn’t bat an eyelid at the questions that are directed at her about it, although she knows that it’s a real pet peeve of Maggie’s.

One thing that she _does_ tire of quickly are the male-orientated questions’ especially given the fact that it is well known just how protective of her private relationships Beth is. Even to her friends and her family, Beth has been almost secretive; never mind to the media or the public.

And people try to connect the dots and pick out hints from her lyrics, but that’s about as much as Beth ever offers nowadays.

Still, questions like _are you dating anyone at the moment_ and _do you have a date with you tonight_ and _is there anyone you’re planning on leaving with_ tire her to no end, especially when they are repeated to her in more or less the same words over and over again by different reporters.

 _Grin and bear it_ , she hears Maggie’s voice tell her somewhere in the back of her mind. _We all have jobs to do._

The thought of her older sister comes as a pleasant distraction, and Beth’s light blue eyes scan over the red carpet, hoping for a glance of the brunette as she makes her way into the building. It’s difficult to see as the long, wide carpet is mostly filled with members of security teams that all belong to different people, and in the end, Beth’s eyes are drawn to another pair of electric blue rather than the green pair that she had initially been searching for.

It feels as though she has been punched in the stomach, and Beth practically freezes on the spot as her heart begins to race within her chest. She knew that he would be here, but she had purposely not thought much about it.

The two of them had never been at the same event together before, and although she had been anticipating this, she had pushed all thoughts – and questions, too – to the back of her mind out of her desire to not make this something bigger than what it was, or what it needed to be. The last thing that she wanted to do was spook him, and although she had never experienced anything like this before, Beth had tried her best not to think of tonight.

With a sharp intake of breath, and her eyes still very much locked onto his, Beth finds it challenging not to grin at him. Whilst her lips tremble in their desire, their _instinct_ to curve upwards at the sight of him, Beth’s composure is kept by the thought of absolutely everyone watching her. She swallows slowly, allowing herself a few more seconds to take him in, before she is the one to break their eye contact and make her way towards the next reporter.

“So, Beth,” the beautiful reporter – Rosita, she’s sure that she’s called – says with a dazzling smile that Beth can’t work out is genuine or not. “We’re all _dying_ to know if you’re dating anyone right now.”

The blonde has to bite her tongue; and for once, not out of fury or frustration or irritation. Rather, she feels so inexplicably elated just at the sight of him, and there is a part of her that so desperately wants to throw caution to the wind and chant that yes, yes, _yes_ she is –

but Beth knows better, and so does he.

So, she lies.

“Not right now,” the blonde responds with a practiced and composed, neutral expression.

Beth encourages her mind to focus mostly upon how nice it would be if a reporter would show an interest in the album that she has been working on for the good part of twelve months rather than her personal life, but Beth isn’t stupid, either – she recognises that a confession, or even just a hint as to who she may be dating would attract a lot more hits to website or views to a video than a story about her almost finished album would.

“I’m just putting so much of my energy into this new album that I’ve spent the best part of a year working on. I’m really excited about it, and I just don’t think that I would have the time right now to focus my energy on anything else. On any _one_ else.”

The lies tumble from her tongue so naturally now, and there’s a part of her that cringes at this life that she leads; a part that wants nothing more than to share her happiness with the world.

Rosita nods her head and appears to be genuinely interested in what Beth has said until she speaks again. “So, would you say that there is a certain someone who we might end up seeing you with in the future, when you’re a little… less busy?”

Almost as if she has been completely frozen in place, Beth’s mind draws a blank, and all that she can think of is _him_. The thought of him distracts her to no end and Beth stands completely still, her mouth gaping slightly as she stares directly at Rosita.

She has no idea what to say.

_Why does she not know what to say?_

“I can’t answer that question right now,” Beth opts to say, and after a quick wrap-up, the blonde is free to move on. Usually, Beth interacts with more reporters and engages in more interviews, but since she’s feeling a little bit taken aback by the last question and he has no intention of making herself look any more of a fool, Beth decides to head to the entrance of the venue.

As previously planned, Beth meets with Maggie at their table at eight thirty on the dot, and the two sit side by side as people begin to flock into the venue. Charity balls are always fun events as far as Beth is concerned, and she as she writes out a cheque to make a donation, her sister nudges her in the ribs with enough force to make Beth wince.

“Ow!” the blonde hisses as she jumps away from Maggie. Beth throws her older sibling a bitter look, and in the brunette’s defence, she does look quite sheepish.

Hissing back a quick apology, Maggie’s green eyes widened as if Beth was being somewhat over-dramatic. “Look over there,” the older girl states, nodding her head towards their right. “Do you know that guy in the black tux?” Beth’s heart races for the second time that evening as her eyes fly over in the direction that Maggie has signalled, a part of her hoping to see a familiar face, but the disappointment that brews in her belly at the sight of the stranger is something that she expected. “He’s literally been staring at you since we sat down.”

Genuinely disinterested in the unfamiliar man, Beth shrugged her shoulders before handing over her cheque to a member of staff and then reaching for her wine glass. “I’ve no idea who he is,” she says as she raises the glass to her lips and takes a mouthful of sweet liquid.

“Well, it looks like he knows who you are,” Maggie quirks, a smirk playing at her lips. “Or at least, he wants to know.”

The brunette laughed at the sound of her younger siblings groan, and Beth shook her head from side to side. “Mags,” she said, fighting the urge to laugh. “How many times do I have to tell you that I’m just not interested in dating right now?”

What Beth doesn’t tell her sister is that she isn’t interested in dating anyone else right now.

She’s sure that Maggie would understand – if she knew, of course.

“Whatever you say,” Maggie responds, shaking her head. “All that I’m saying is that if you don’t go for it with him, then I might have to.”

Scoffing, the blonde genuinely did laugh at the comment. “Is that so?” Beth quipped, taking another sip of wine. “I didn’t think that you would have wanted anyone else but your driver tonight.”

At Beth’s words, Maggie’s face fell completely, and she practically cracked her neck from how quickly she turned it in her direction. Unable to help herself, Beth let out a loud laugh at the sight of her sister’s mortified expression.

.

.

.

_say my name and everything just stops_   
_I don’t want you like a best friend_   
_only bought this dress so you could take it off_

He finds her backstage sometime later, once the sky has turned from a shade of pink to a deep blue, and after she has performed three songs for the exclusive crowd. Truth be told, she has been thoroughly enjoying herself despite the shakiness from the interview, and the opportunity to perform in front of so many successful people had been one that she could have never refused even if she wanted to.

It was as she was making her way back around to the seated area that she had been grabbed by the hand and practically yanked into a dark room that she wasn’t familiar with. Although she squealed – which she thought was a fair enough reaction considering the fact that she had just been pulled from behind into a small, dark enclosure – a giggle escaped from her lips as her back pressed up against the wall, and she beamed as two large, familiar hands cupped her cheeks.

“Hey,” she murmured as she blinked her light eyes open and found a familiar pair of electric blue staring right back at her.

The sound of his low chuckle caused her heart to race impossibly faster within her chest, and Beth dipped her head slightly as her cheeks began to burn crimson.

It felt as though it had been so long since they had last seen one another; realistically, the blonde supposed that ten days wasn’t all that long to be apart, but given that they were both holding all their cards to their chests – as in nobody knew about them, for their own sanity and prevention of a media circus – Beth had struggled.

“I’ve missed you, Daryl Dixon,” the blonde murmured, and at that, his lips were near enough instantly pressed against her own.

 _carve your name into my bedpost_  
_cause I don’t want you like a best friend_  
_only bought this dress so you could take it off_


	2. goodnight and go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The evening comes to a close, and Beth is woken up by a surprise visitor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ariana Grande - Goodnight & Go

_tell me why you gotta look at me that way_  
_you know what it does to me_  
_lately all I want is you on top of me_  
_you know where your hands should be_

It’s much later into the night when the two of them manage to find one another again. A time when Beth’s lips are no longer swollen from where Daryl’s were pressed harshly against them, and her hair is no longer dishevelled from where his large hands had coursed through it. The scenario itself is _bizarre_ , to say the least; apparently, Maggie Greene and Merle Dixon have a mutual friend, and said mutual friend was currently introducing the eldest of the Greene sisters to the Dixon brothers.

Meanwhile, Beth was sat down at the table, pretending to be busy looking through pictures that she had taken throughout the evening on her phone. Realistically, she was crumbling – in fact, the blonde was a little surprised that her older sister (who usually watched her like a hawk and seemed to be able to detect the slightest change in her attitude) was completely oblivious to her uncharacteristic behaviour.

The blonde couldn’t bring herself to stand up and head over to them, though. Nonetheless, her eyes repeatedly flickered up to observe the situation from a slight distance, all the while she was pretending that she hadn’t noticed anything at all.

“An’ it’s nice to meet you too, Daryl,” she hears Maggie say, and it takes an awful lot of self-restraint and a quick reminder of her mindfulness techniques for Beth to not physically cringe at the thought of them shaking hands.

Especially knowing where those hands of his had been just hours earlier.

From where she is sat a short distance away, Beth doesn’t hear Daryl respond, and she assumes that he will have grunted or mumbled out some sort of greeting. Beneath his hard exterior, the blonde imagines that he feels just as awkward as she does right now; and for that, she is actually somewhat relieved.

Out of her peripheral vision, the blonde spots how Maggie angles herself towards their table, and before she can think any longer about it, she hears her name being called out.  
Taking in a deep breath through her mouth, Beth looks up towards her sister with a ghost of a smile on her lips, the words _act casual_ spinning around on a loop inside of her mind.

Tilting her head in the direction of the Dixon brothers, Maggie beams over at Beth. “Come and say hi,” her sister says, and Beth doesn’t miss the pull of her eyebrows, as if noticing her reluctance.

There is a reason that Beth is a singer rather than an actress, but regardless, she pretended as best that she could. Pulling herself up and placing her phone down on the glass table, the blonde had a quick sip of wine – which didn’t really help, as all that it made her do was shudder since she had never been a fan of alcohol – and made her way over towards the small group.

Smiling, Beth looked at her sister expectantly. “Beth,” Maggie said, “this is Merle and Daryl Dixon. They’re friends of Tara’s.”

At that, Tara said something that the blonde didn’t quite catch, but apparently it was hilarious as Maggie laughed loudly. Her sister quickly became distracted by the new conversation, whilst Beth felt her mouth turning impossibly dry as she attempted to act normal and speak. She managed to stammer a _hello_ as she locked eyes with the youngest of the two brothers, and her cheeks burned a dark shade of crimson as she swallowed harshly, thankful for the poor lighting within the venue.

Beth couldn’t help but feel so _stupid_ , and it was difficult to even stand still on the spot, never mind act normal whilst her heart rate escalated.

“Hey,” Daryl responded, and her heart practically _fluttered_ at the sound of his low voice, even more so as he reached out and enclosed her small hand in his. His thumb rested gently over her pulse point, and she could tell by the look on his face that her heart rate surprised him. But really, what did he expect?

Daryl recovered quickly and nodded slightly towards her. “Nice to meet you, Beth.”

If it was at all possible to, then Beth blushed even harder; and it was difficult to fight the smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth. “Mm,” she agreed, swallowing once again. “It’s nice to meet you, too.”

.

.

.

It’s not all too long after what may have been the most awkward pretend introduction that Beth has ever had to endure when Maggie asks if she is ready to leave, and the blonde does not hesitate whatsoever to nod her confirmation. Although the introduction to both of the Dixon brothers was very quick and formal, it has still left Beth feeling a little bit shaken up, and she cannot wait to just arrive at home and go to bed.

And breathe.

Maybe once she gets in her car, and has some time to herself, she will be able to just _breathe_.

Realistically, the whole scenario this evening has not done all that much for her deliberating state of mind, either. The blonde has been torn for months as to whether or not she should come clean and confess to her older sister about her developing relationship with the youngest Dixon brother.

But deep down, Beth knows _exactly_ what sort of reaction Maggie would have, and it would be anything but positive. The blonde is no longer naïve enough to believe that her older sister would be happy for her to be in a relationship with the boxer just because of the fact that she introduced the two of them to one another tonight; and as much as Beth loves her older sister, she knows exactly where her priorities lie.

_It’s nothing personal, Beth. It’s your **image**._

_Think of your fans, Bethy. They’re young girls. Impressionable. What would their **mothers** say?_

_You’re a southern girl yourself. You know just as well as I do that you’re not gonna sell any records to any southern families if your image isn’t **perfect**._

They’re words that have been spoken to her before, and Beth _knows_ that they would be repeated again if they needed to be. After all, Daryl Dixon has anything but a perfect image – in fact, the blonde can’t imagine that his management team would be all too happy about him dating her, either.

The thought of it almost makes her giggle. Big, bad Daryl Dixon; undefeated, unrivalled, the meanest man in boxing – with _her_.

“You ready?” Maggie asks, and Beth is quickly snapped out of her thoughts and comes crash-landing back into the present at the sound of her voice.

Nodding, Beth picks up her phone and her clutch bag, glancing around the table where they have been seated in order to make sure that neither of them have left any belongings before she tucks the chair underneath the table cloth. “Yep,” Beth responds, popping the _p_.

“Alrighty,” Maggie says, and the brunette is surprisingly chirpy despite the late hour. “C’mon. Let’s get out of here.”

Nodding once more, the blonde follows Maggie as she weaves her way through the crowds of people towards the exit; and Beth can’t help but allow her eyes to wander around the groups of people in an attempt to find a familiar pair of electric blue eyes. Unfortunately, Daryl is nowhere to be seen, and as the cool air from outside hits, Beth cannot help but feel deflated that she wasn’t able to have a silent goodbye with him.

Like the protective big sister that she is, Maggie makes sure that Beth gets into her limo safely, and the sisters embrace in a hug that isn’t exactly long-lasting. The flashing lights of the cameras behind them is off-putting enough as it is. “Thank you for tonight,” Maggie says, smiling gently down at her.

“You’re welcome,” Beth responds, tucking a piece of loose hair behind her one of her ears. “What’s the plan, then? Are you stayin’ at mine tonight?”

The blonde doesn’t miss the way that Maggie glances towards her own limo almost _nervously_ , which is odd, to say the very least. “Erm, not tonight,” the brunette says. “I’m pretty tired.”

“Yeah, me too,” Beth nods in agreement, adamant not to let herself over-think Maggie’s behaviour, especially considering the fact that she has been sneaking around with Daryl Dixon for the past six months. “Call me tomorrow, then,” she says, and with Maggie agreeing, the pair go their separate ways.

In the back of the car, Beth watches as the flashing lights fade away, and just as she suspected, she finally feels as though she is able to breathe.

.

.

.

_one of these days_  
 _you'll miss your train_  
 _and come stay with me_  
 _(it’s always say goodnight and go)_

In the early hours of the morning, before the sun has risen and it is still truly dark and still outside, Beth is awoken to the sound of her phone vibrating harshly on her bedside table. She ignored the first call, but when the phone starts to vibrate again, she lets out a tired groan before answering it without checking the caller ID.

“Hello?” she practically yawns down the line, however, her light blue eyes are immediately flying open at the unexpected sound of Daryl’s voice.

“You gonna open the door, girl?” he asks, and Beth shakes her head slightly in confusion.

“What?” she stutters, pushing herself up in bed. “Which door?” she asks for clarification, practically _praying_ that he isn’t standing at the front door to her house right now. After all, Daryl knows perfectly well that Beth has security who monitor her CCTV cameras, and he also knows that Maggie is pretty tech-savvy as well as friendly with her security detail, too –

But this man knows her too well already, and before her thoughts can wander any further, there is a quiet tap on the French doors that lead out to her balcony. As Beth squints into the darkness, the phone still pressed against her ear, she can just about make out his broad silhouette from behind her curtains, and her shoulders sag in relief. Without saying another word, Beth hangs up the call and places her phone back on her nightstand before she makes her way over towards the doors.

It takes her a couple of beats to unlock the doors – and make sure that the alarm on them is switched off – and almost as soon as she has started to slide them open, Daryl has stepped through and is sliding them to a close once again.

Given how quickly she had shot out of bed and rushed towards the doors, her bedroom is dark, and whilst Beth can’t make out his features all too well because of that, she is still almost certain that Daryl is still wearing the same outfit that he had been wearing earlier in the evening. Pretty confident that the older man has stopped here on his way back from the venue, Beth cocked an eyebrow despite the fact that she knew he wouldn’t be able to see it.

“Daryl,” she breathes out, and although she had been hoping for a somewhat serious tone, her voice gave her away as it came out dangerously light and airy.  
She is quite certain that this man does not realise _half_ of the things that he does to her.

“What are you _doin’_? Did you fall and hit your head? What if some paparazzi followed you here – ”

Stepping towards her with his hands reaching for her face, Daryl cuts her off. “Missed you, Beth,” he murmurs, his voice quite and gentle, and his warm hands come into contact with her skin as he cups her cheeks.

Daryl’s words catch Beth completely off-guard. It isn’t as though he’s _never_ affectionate with her, because he is; but it tends to be in a subtler way. It’s incredibly rare that he is this open and brazen with her.

“Have you been drinking?” she asks, laughing awkwardly, and she immediately regrets the question although he doesn’t appear to take any offence to it as he ducks his head and chuckles lowly, too.

It isn’t as though the blonde can actually smell any alcohol on him, and it isn’t as though he is stumbling around or slurring his words. But Beth isn’t used to this affection from him, and she was raised by a man who loved the bottle almost as much as he loved his children, and that can do dangerous things to a person.

“I missed you, too,” she says, the response that she wishes she would have given him in the first place. “You know,” Beth continues, her tone turning playful as a small smile dances on her lips. “I wasn’t expecting you to pull a Romeo-and-Juliet and climb all the way up here.”

In the darkness of her bedroom, Beth can just about make out the slight way in which his face falls at her words. “Yeah, well, I wasn’t expectin’ you to disappear without sayin’ goodbye,” he responds, his voice quiet once more.

Daryl’s words hit her in a way that she wasn’t expecting. Although she had never expected him to call her out on it – she couldn’t pretend as though he was a huge talker – Beth _had_ felt both disappointed and guilty for not being able to silently communicate with him to give him a heads up that she was leaving. But at the same time, what was she supposed to do? Nobody knew about the two of them; it wasn’t as though she was able to explain to Maggie why she wasn’t ready to leave right that second, and he was nowhere to be seen.

Sighing, Beth shakes her head gently. “I’m sorry,” she murmurs, her own voice soft now. “I didn’t want to – I tried lookin’ for you. But I couldn’t see you anywhere. I wanted to say goodbye, but you know how Maggie is. And I didn’t want to risk textin’ you in case Merle or someone else saw it.”

“S’ok,” Daryl responded, nodding his head sharply. “I know.”

Although he hasn’t said it to her yet, Beth knows that their situation frustrates him just as much as it does her. It’s difficult to keep up a lie when all that you want to do is scream the truth, but they both know that neither of their management teams would be happy about their relationship, and the truth is that neither of them are ready to give up their careers just yet. Beth is finally making it in music – something that has been her dream for as long as she can remember – and Daryl still has a good few years left of fighting in him.

Neither of them are really ready to give that up for a relationship that might not even last.

_Even if she knows deep down that it will._

Seconds later, their lips have met; and this kiss is so different to the last one that they shared. There is no urgency or desperation. It’s gentle and it’s sweet and it’s soft. It’s easy and it’s unhurried and it’s familiar.

Beth has kissed this man more times that she could even begin to count, and yet she cherishes each and every one that they share because she knows that neither of them can be sure as to when their next chance to be alone together will be. It seems to be becoming increasingly difficult to manage to sneak off – both of them are running short on excuses, although it’s Beth that’s hounded much more than Daryl given the fact that her older sister is (admittedly) over-protective of her.

It’s Beth who breaks their kiss, pulling back slightly and resting her own hands on top of Daryl’s shirt-clad chest. “So, Mr Dixon,” she says, unable to fight the loopy grin from spreading across her face as she finds his eyes in the dark. “Are you stayin’ the night?”

With a chuckle, Daryl nods once. “Where else am I gonna go?”

  
_why’d you have to be so cute?_  
_it’s impossible to ignore you_  
_why must you make me laugh so much?_  
_it’s bad enough we get along so well_  
_just say goodnight and go_


	3. call it what you want

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maggie's sneaking around, Daryl wins a fight, and Beth realises just how messy of a situation she is really in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Taylor Swift - Call it What You Want

_i want to wear his initial on a chain round my neck_   
_not because he owns me_   
_but ‘cause he really knows me_   
_which is more than they can say_

“Wow,” Maggie says from behind the glass pane of the booth, sounding genuinely impressed. “That was good.”

“Thanks,” Beth responded, unable to hold back from beaming in delight as she removed the headphones that covered her ears, allowing them to loop around her neck, whilst she stepped away from the microphone.

“I haven’t heard you singin’ that one before,” her sister states as Beth exits through the glass door and carefully places the headphones down on the desk. “When did you write it?”

Swallowing down the lump that is quickly forming in the back of her throat, Beth shrugs her shoulders as nonchalantly as she can, hoping that she appears casual. “It’s just somethin’ I’ve been working on these last few days.” Maggie doesn’t say anything to that – she simply offers her a closed-lip smile and a nod – and Beth breathes out in relief. “D’you fancy going getting somethin’ to eat?”

The smile on Maggie’s face falls into a frown, and her sister looks slightly disappointed, at least. “I can’t,” she says, her tone apologetic. “I’ve got – plans.”

Surprised, Beth blinked several times, but before opening her mouth to question her sister on who exactly she had plans with, the blonde remembered how she felt every time that Maggie asked her something similar, and how it _always_ felt as though her older sister was interrogating her. So, Beth didn’t say anything out of curiosity, and instead she smiled gently. “Oh, okay,” she said, hoping that her sister appreciated the way in which she was respecting her privacy. “Another time, then?”

Smiling a little easier, Maggie nodded. “Of course.”

.

.

.

“So, who d’you reckon’ she’s ditched you for?”

Sighing, Beth rolled over on her king-sized bed so that she was lay on her stomach, still holding the phone closely to her ear. “Daryl,” she said, her tone mock-scolding. “Maggie hasn’t _ditched_ me. But I don’t know. I think that she’s got a crush on her driver, but I don’t know why she wouldn’t just tell me.”

Daryl scoffed down the line, and Beth knew exactly what he was about to say. “That’s a bit rich comin’ from you, huh?” he chuckled, and Beth rolled her eyes dramatically.

“Things between us are different, and you know it,” she responded, not attempting to fight the smile that lit up her face at the sound of his laugh since nobody was here to witness it anyway. “Besides, she’s made it pretty clear to me that she likes him. I don’t know if it’s just too _obvious_. I could be completely wrong.”

“Yeah, you could be,” Daryl responded. “Guess we’ll never know.”

“Oh, I’m _going_ to know, Dixon,” Beth grinned. “There’s no way that Maggie will keep quiet about it if she starts seeing someone.”

“From what you’ve told me, the words Maggie and quiet don’t belong in the same sentence.”

Beth smoothed down the pastel pink feathers from one of her pillows as she giggled down the line. “Yeah, you’re right,” she agreed. “Well, I guess I’d better let you get goin’, then. What time is your fight tonight?”

The blonde hoped that Daryl wouldn’t be able to detect from her tone the way that she physically winced at the thought of him fighting in just a few hours time. Although she had never admitted it to him, boxing wasn’t something that Beth had ever really thought much of – she had never understood how two people beating on one another could be classed as a sport, never mind entertainment, but all of a sudden this man was in her life and that’s what he did for a living and now, she was slowly beginning to understand.

Daryl had been _angry_. Really, really angry. She recalls reading about it when she first googled him – not that she would ever admit that, either – and although there were few details anywhere online about what had happened to him, there was a very clear understanding that the older man had been through an awful lot as a child; he had come from an abusive family, his mother had died whilst he was under the age of ten in a house-fire caused by one of her own cigarettes, and his brother had spent most of his life in and out of jail.

It’s something that she has never pressed him on, but the scars that line his back are evidence enough to her as to why he chose to do this for a living. She can picture him in her mind now; younger and more frustrated, testosterone coursing through his body in unreal amounts, and the anger that he felt oozing from him with every breath. She can almost see him entering the ring for the first time and letting out as much of that anger as he could.

Blurred lines, and all that. The boxing still isn’t something that sits well with her. She can’t help but worry that one day, she might find out that he’d been injured so severely that he was paralysed, or dead.

“’m not on ‘til ten,” he said, and Beth made a mental note to make sure that she was in bed for nine o’clock.

She never watched his fights.

“Are you gonna train for a little bit beforehand?” she asked, but he quickly shot that down.

“Nah,” he responded. “Ain’t gonna do anything now. You’re right though, I best get goin’ – I wanna grab somethin’ to eat.”

Smiling faintly, Beth placed the feathered pillow that she had been fiddling with back with the rest of her cushions and rolled onto her back. “Okay,” she said. “Well, good luck for tonight. I’m sure that you’ll win.”

“Yeah,” he rasped, and Beth closed her eyes slowly as if to cherish the sound of his voice. She knew that she wouldn’t be able to speak to him tonight, and she’d be lucky if she got chance to speak to him tomorrow, either. “Thanks.”

“An’ be careful,” she murmured before she could stop herself.

There was nothing in response for a moment – just a few beats of utter silence – and Beth felt herself practically hold her breath because of it. But then he cleared his throat and spoke, and the sound caused her to release the air that she had been holding. “Always am,” he said, and with that, he cut off the call.

.

.

.

_my baby’s fly like a jet stream_   
_high above he whole scene_   
_loves me like i’m brand new_

So, Daryl Dixon wins the fight, but in a way, it’s nothing that she didn’t expect. It’s almost unheard of that he loses, and in the morning, she allows herself time to watch the highlights.

Beth supposes that it’s progress.

It isn’t as though she’s watching the whole thing, but equally, Beth’s watched some of it; which has to count for something.

Later that evening, whilst she is sprawled out on one of her couches watching a twelve-part crime documentary on Nextflix with Maggie, Beth can’t resist the urge to quickly google Daryl’s name to see what the top stories are surrounding him. It’s something that she finds herself doing the day after every fight, and she knows deep down that it’s more or less because she wants to know what has been said in his press conferences.

The blonde has turned the brightness down on her phone so that Maggie doesn’t notice that she’s not really paying much attention to the show, and she squints in the darkness at her screen in order to make out the words. The third headline catches her eye instantly, and Beth’s heart practically sinks as she reads the words.

IT’S OFFICIAL, LADIES – DARYL DIXON CONFIRMS THAT HE IS SINGLE.

.

.

.

Beth doesn’t understand why she lets it upset her as much as it does.

In fact, she knows that she has absolutely no right to get as upset as she does. Because it’s something that she does herself so frequently – literally, at every interview that the question gets asked to her.

And so rationally, the blonde knows exactly why Daryl has ‘confirmed’ that – she supposes that technically, he _is_ single (well, they both are). They may have been hiding their relationship for the last six months, but there equally hasn’t been that much of a relationship to hide. It isn’t as though they have the opportunity to speak to each other every day, nor do they have the chance to see each other even weekly. Plus there is the fact that they have agreed to keep whatever happens between them a secret for the foreseeable future as they both know that any relationship in the public eye can get messy, and they also both know that their management teams wouldn’t take too kindly to the news.

Beth Greene is a good girl. She sings sweet songs about sweet things, about innocent relationships and childhood sweethearts, about PG kisses on the front porch and prom dances and growing up.

Daryl Dixon is a boxer. His job is literally to fight with someone until the other is knocked out.

But still. _Still_. She’s upset. And she’s upset at him, but really, she’s not – she understands that much. She’s upset because of the situation that she has found herself in. She’s upset that she has to be seen as a sweet, pop singer who might be in her twenties but is innocent nonetheless. And she’s upset that he has to be seen as this big, bad guy; because she knows that he’s anything but.

And yet here they are. And two days after the press conference, Beth can’t find it within her to answer his calls. It isn’t as though she wants to ignore him – all that she really wants to do right now is to hear his voice – but it is as if she physically can’t.

Because now, she has realised that she is falling in love with this man, and this changes absolutely everything.

_call it what you want, yeah_   
_call it what you want to_


	4. king of my heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beth learns how best to manage her frustration.

  
_'cause all the boys and their expensive cars_   
_with their Range Rovers and their Jaguars_   
_never took me quite where you do_   


.

.

.

There is a cabin in the woods that he retreats to as often as he can, and post-win of a huge fight is certainly one of those times when he can. Beth isn’t sure of the exact location of the cabin – all that she knows about it is that it’s somewhere in rural Georgia, and she knows that it’s surrounded by acres of private land that Daryl also owns, so it isn’t as though he has any neighbours close by. In all truthfulness, it sounds like a _dream_. Although he doesn’t always say much, he has told her some; like how he taught himself how to track and hunt when he was just a child, and how it’s something that he reverts to even now in order to unwind and escape from the lifestyle that he leads.

And Beth understands. Really, she does. Whilst Daryl doesn’t receive the same sort of media attention that she does – as a boxer, he isn’t quite so much of a household name as pop singer Beth Greene is – he’s still very much in the public eye, particularly when he is earning millions of dollars for high-profile fights. The blonde knows all too well about how the stress of the media attention can be completely overwhelming. And whilst Daryl doesn’t have to worry about the upkeep of a squeaky-clean reputation like Beth does, there are still plenty of limitations and rules that are put onto him by his management.

Still, Beth cannot help but be envious of the way that he is able to slink away from the spotlight and the madness, even if it is only for a few days at a time. After all, she has a feeling that if she were to ask Maggie for a couple of days off, then her sister would more than likely have a heart attack.

For Beth, the most frustrating part about when Daryl is at the cabin is the fact that it has incredibly poor reception, making it difficult to get in contact with him, combined with the fact that he often leaves his phone inside whilst he goes out to hunt. And whilst Atlanta doesn’t seem so far away in the grand scheme of things, my goodness, Beth knows that it _is_ , and by the time that he has read the texts that she has sent to him or spotted a missed call from her, the blonde is either out for the count due to the late hour, or is pre-occupied with work of her own.

So, yeah. Beth supposes she isn’t a huge fan of the cabin.

Although, truth be told, she isn’t a huge fan of herself _or_ Daryl right now. Considering the fact that she couldn’t face the thought of answering his calls after what was said in the post-fight interview, the two haven’t communicated for the past three days. Whilst it might not be the longest period of time that they haven’t spoken for, it’s certainly the longest amount of time that she has _actively_ not spoken to him for, which makes a huge difference in her mind.

The older man left for his cabin yesterday morning and had sent her a message to let her know that he would be gone for around one week. Whilst part of her was currently kicking herself about the fact that she had been so stubborn and ignored him because she was being overly sensitive about their relationship – or really, their whole situation – another part of her was still hurt over the interview.

It was ridiculous. _She_ was ridiculous. She had been telling herself as such since it happened, too.

After all, those words near enough mirrored the ones she has repeated time and time again, in interview after interview.

_No, there’s no ‘lucky man’._

_I’m too busy for a relationship right now._

_I’m single._

She wonders if those words stung him just as much as they have stung her.

.

.

.

_late in the night, the city's asleep_  
 _your love is a secret I'm hoping, dreaming, dying to keep_  
 _change my priorities_  
 _the taste of your lips is my idea of luxury_

So, he’s gone for one week, and the first time that she hears from him whilst he’s away is the fourth day, making it exactly seven days since they last communicated. It’s late – almost one in the morning – and she has been attempting to sleep for some time now, but was unable to find peace for a while.

The sound of her phone buzzing gives her the answer as to why.

Her heart betrays her, pounding and racing and skipping simultaneously in her chest as she practically leaps into a sitting position and grabs wildly in the dark for the phone on the bedside table. The sight of his name flashing up on the screen has her fighting a grin, and Beth feels like a love-sick teenager.

But this is the reaction that she has to him; no matter how much she tries to withhold it, no matter how much she tries to resist the constant pull, she just cannot shake him.

Still, there is a part of her – a miniscule part, really – that isn’t feeling all that impressed about the fact that Daryl is ringing at this unsociable hour, and a stubborn part of her briefly considers ignoring the call.

But that though disappears from her mind almost as quickly as it came, and with a deep breath, the blonde found herself answering the call on the third ring.

“Hey,” she says, hoping to sound as casual and normal as possible, but knowing instantly that she has failed miserably to do so.

If only to make matters worse, Beth can practically _hear_ him smiling down the line.

“Hey,” he responds, and all that it takes for her shoulders to sag and her body to relax is the sound of his voice.

When Beth started this _thing_ with Daryl Dixon – the _boxer_ , the bad boy, the everything-that-she-shouldn’t-want older man – she had told herself that she would play it cool. That she would be calm, and collected, and relaxed. That she wouldn’t be too dependent or needy or emotional.

Looking back, she realises now that she just didn’t want to scare him off.

Now, she’s not so sure that she could.

“I’ve missed you, Daryl,” she says, the words escaping past her lips before she could stop them or even really think about what it was that she was saying. It shocks her to no end, and her eyes widen in surprise that she really just said anything like that to him.

He has said it to her before – once, when he was drunk; when he climbed the back of her house and crept onto the balcony, sneaking past her security in a way that had her questioning whether she needed to invest some money into new people who wouldn’t let a grown man get past them so easily.

But that had been different. It had been late, and they hadn’t seen each other in a few weeks. There had been a build up of tension which had been semi-released by their kiss in the closet – or whatever the hell it was – but still needed _more_ , and to top it all off, he had been pretty tipsy.

This time, though, he’s sober.

“I’ve missed you too, girl.”

.

.

.

_is the end of all the endings?_  
 _my broken bones are mending_  
 _with all these nights we're spending_

It is another ten days until Beth finally has the chance to see Daryl once again.

For a short while, the blonde had considered that it might be slightly easier to be able to sneak around with him unnoticed now that Maggie seemed to be becoming more and more preoccupied with Glenn, the driver (although she still wasn’t actually openly admitting to anyone that anything was going on between them), but it seemed as though Daryl was busier than he had been in a while after his last huge win. Beth understood that he wasn’t exactly given much of a choice in the matter when it came to accepting interviews and paid opportunities – after all, she was in the exact same boat herself – but it didn’t change the fact that she felt disappointed, and that she missed his company terribly.

Nevertheless, she tried not to dwell on that too much. After all, the blonde knew that it would do her no good to think on it for too long.

It was late on a Tuesday night in September when Daryl finally managed to find the time to sneak over to her place wearing dark clothing and a baseball cap that discreetly hid his features. Despite being slightly concerned about the fact that she really should invest in some better security, the blonde couldn’t help the smile that grew across her face at the sight of him pulling himself onto her first-story bedroom porch.

Unable to resist the burning need that was clawing within her, Beth practically pounced towards him and pressed her lips urgently against his before he could even open his mouth to greet her.

It was impossible _not_ to notice the way that he responded to her bold actions, and it was safe to say that she took him completely by surprise. Daryl’s whole body felt tense beneath the palms of her hands, but as she lifted them to tease the hair at the nape of his neck and eased her lips from his, he relaxed. Beth smiled as he chased her lips with his own, and she practically purred into his mouth when he kissed her back.

Far too much time had passed since they had been together, and Beth certainly didn’t want to waste a second longer. She began to step backwards into her bedroom, Daryl’s lips never leaving hers as he followed her lead into the room, his large hands coming to rest on her hips with a familiarity that made her heart pound impossibly faster.

Beth had such conflicting emotions towards him – she was angry and frustrated and disappointed and _sad_ as well as happy and relieved and _in love_ with this man. It was something that she had been coming to accept over the last few weeks, but it wasn’t something that she was prepared to discuss with him yet.

The last thing that she wanted to do was scare Daryl off.

So instead, she invited him in with her open-mouthed kisses and her flushed skin and her needy hands. Beth smiled as he paused to fumble with the French doors that led out onto her porch – at least he had had the sense to think to shut them.

The time that their lips were apart was brief, and Beth cupped his stubbed jaw in her palms as she kissed him once more, the fire and the passion and the _need_ that she felt within her core portrayed through her actions as heavily as she could. She was positive that he understood that this was no time to tease her, nor was it a time to take things slow, and the way he felt rock hard against her thigh encouraged her even more.

The next time that their kiss was interrupted, it was because Beth pulled away to break it, and the groan that escaped from Daryl’s lips caused the hairs on the back of her neck to stand alert. Moving swiftly, Beth took a step backwards from him to give herself some space as she reached down to remove her baby blue camisole. As her hands reached the hem and jerked to pull the item over her head as quickly as she could, Daryl’s hands suddenly gripped at her wrists and the surprise of it caused Beth to be still.

She looked up at him almost immediately, both of their chests rising and falling quickly as they panted loudly. Beth tried her best to read whatever it was that he was silently telling her with his pupil-blown eyes, but she quickly grew frustrated with herself when she wasn’t able to decipher what it was that he wanted – but couldn’t find the words – to say.

Beth opened her mouth to ask him what he wanted, but before she had chance to even let out a breath, Daryl was kissing her again. The blonde had thought their kiss had been urgent before, but he well and truly picked up the pace this time, and it was only a few more seconds until he had her practically pinned beneath him on her king-sized bed.

Moaning beneath the weight of him, Beth rocked her pelvis in an upwards thrust, feeling the hard length of him through her silk shorts and his joggers. She practically _hissed_ at the sensation as her clit pulsated, and she repeated her movements again, searching for friction. The blonde could feel her panties quickly dampen, and her cheeks burned red as an animalistic growl came from him.

It wasn’t always like this between them. Not quite so desperate, and needy. It wasn’t as though there was any particular rush – as far as she was aware, there was nowhere either of them needed to be right now, and so they had enough time to be able to spend enjoying themselves.

But she didn’t want to spend too much time – not when so long had already passed since she had been with him last. And from the way that he responded to her hurried kisses, Beth was pretty damn sure that Daryl felt the same.

“Need you,” she murmured, her lips brushing against his as she spoke. “Please.”

That was all that he needed to hear, and quicker than she could believe, Daryl has tugged his joggers so that they fell at his needs and pulled her silk shorts and panties towards the left side, granting himself access to the place that she wanted him most.

The feeling of the cool air hitting where he had exposed her to his eyes felt nothing short of wonderful, and Beth whined in longing, squinting her eyes tightly shut. It had been far, _far_ too long since the blonde had felt him inside of her, and that’s what she wanted - _now_.

As though he could read her mind – and heaven knows, perhaps he really could – Daryl didn’t waste any time in rocking back towards her and lining himself up against her entrance. The feel of his head rubbing against her had Beth moaning louder, and she opened her eyes to look up at him whilst bringing her arms up to wrap around his neck.

They were both still breathing heavily, and Daryl’s lips twitched slightly as he looked directly into her lustful eyes.

“You want it?” he asked, his voice low and quiet, and Beth nodded her head quickly. “You gotta say it, Beth,” he told her, rubbing his throbbing cock against her so that the length of him brushed against her clit. His actions caused her abdomen to tense, and Beth’s eyes widened slightly as she stared back up at him, afraid to blink on the chance that she might miss something.

“I want it, Daryl,” she breathed, her voice sultrier than she has ever heard it be before. “I want you. Now. _Please_.”

No sooner had the last, pleading word fell from her mouth was Daryl pushing into her in one swift, forceful movement, and the sensation of him filling her dripping heat was enough to cause Beth’s eyes to droop shut and a loud groan to escape her.

The blonde knew that it wouldn’t take long to come to her peak, and when he tilted his pelvis in a way that caused beautiful friction so that he rubbed against her clit each time that he pounded into her, Beth lost all coherent thought. Words and sounds fell from her lips without her permission, and they seemed to spur him on even more, Daryl’s hips snapping against her own without remorse.

“Fuck,” she breathed, and she heard him chuckle before he buried his face in the crook of her neck. Beth knew that he loved to make her curse in these moments – knew that it wasn’t something she typically did, or even _liked_ to do, but the words always seemed fitting whenever he made her feel this way.

Spurred on by the feel of him nipping and kissing at her neck and clavicles, Beth snuck her hand between their bodies and found her clit, her body twitching as she rubbed against the erect bundle of nerves.

It was his name that tumbled from her lips next, over and over again, and his thrusts increased in speed at a rate that she would have thought to be impossible as he responded to her moans and unspoken commands. Beth could feel him grow even harder within her, and she knew that she had just seconds before he came, and a whine escaped her lips as she continued to rub furious, small circles around her clit –

Daryl came inside of her with a grunt, and the feel of him emptying himself within her was enough to send her over the edge, and Beth had tears in her eyes as she came _hard_. Her legs trembled violently as she gushed around him, their combined fluids dripping onto the sheets beneath them, and Beth squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to prevent the tears from falling as she came down from her high.

After a few seconds, Daryl withdrew himself from her, and Beth opened her eyes once more to find him looking down at her. With their chests still heaving, Daryl moved so that his forehead rested against hers, his eyes boring into her own.

After a few seconds of trembling underneath his intense gaze, the realisation that she had practically pounced on him the moment that she saw him came across her, and the blonde was unable to hold back the slight giggle that escaped from her lips whilst her cheeks turned a deep shade of crimson.

As if he understood without having to ask what was funny, Daryl smirked, too, before he moved himself up ever so slightly to press a tender kiss to her forehead. The gentle action took her by surprise, although Beth attempted to keep her expression neutral so not to startle or discourage him.

“Hey,” he murmured, his eyes meeting hers once again.

Beth grinned brightly at his greeting. “Hey yourself,” she said, reaching her arms around the back of his neck once more to pull him against her for a chaste kiss.

.

.

.

_and all at once, you are the one I have been waiting for_  
 _king of my heart, body and soul_


	5. king of my heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beth learns how best to manage her frustration.

  
_'cause all the boys and their expensive cars_   
_with their Range Rovers and their Jaguars_   
_never took me quite where you do_   


.

.

.

There is a cabin in the woods that he retreats to as often as he can, and post-win of a huge fight is certainly one of those times when he can. Beth isn’t sure of the exact location of the cabin – all that she knows about it is that it’s somewhere in rural Georgia, and she knows that it’s surrounded by acres of private land that Daryl also owns, so it isn’t as though he has any neighbours close by. In all truthfulness, it sounds like a _dream_. Although he doesn’t always say much, he has told her some; like how he taught himself how to track and hunt when he was just a child, and how it’s something that he reverts to even now in order to unwind and escape from the lifestyle that he leads.

And Beth understands. Really, she does. Whilst Daryl doesn’t receive the same sort of media attention that she does – as a boxer, he isn’t quite so much of a household name as pop singer Beth Greene is – he’s still very much in the public eye, particularly when he is earning millions of dollars for high-profile fights. The blonde knows all too well about how the stress of the media attention can be completely overwhelming. And whilst Daryl doesn’t have to worry about the upkeep of a squeaky-clean reputation like Beth does, there are still plenty of limitations and rules that are put onto him by his management.

Still, Beth cannot help but be envious of the way that he is able to slink away from the spotlight and the madness, even if it is only for a few days at a time. After all, she has a feeling that if she were to ask Maggie for a couple of days off, then her sister would more than likely have a heart attack.

For Beth, the most frustrating part about when Daryl is at the cabin is the fact that it has incredibly poor reception, making it difficult to get in contact with him, combined with the fact that he often leaves his phone inside whilst he goes out to hunt. And whilst Atlanta doesn’t seem so far away in the grand scheme of things, my goodness, Beth knows that it _is_ , and by the time that he has read the texts that she has sent to him or spotted a missed call from her, the blonde is either out for the count due to the late hour, or is pre-occupied with work of her own.

So, yeah. Beth supposes she isn’t a huge fan of the cabin.

Although, truth be told, she isn’t a huge fan of herself _or_ Daryl right now. Considering the fact that she couldn’t face the thought of answering his calls after what was said in the post-fight interview, the two haven’t communicated for the past three days. Whilst it might not be the longest period of time that they haven’t spoken for, it’s certainly the longest amount of time that she has _actively_ not spoken to him for, which makes a huge difference in her mind.

The older man left for his cabin yesterday morning and had sent her a message to let her know that he would be gone for around one week. Whilst part of her was currently kicking herself about the fact that she had been so stubborn and ignored him because she was being overly sensitive about their relationship – or really, their whole situation – another part of her was still hurt over the interview.

It was ridiculous. _She_ was ridiculous. She had been telling herself as such since it happened, too.

After all, those words near enough mirrored the ones she has repeated time and time again, in interview after interview.

_No, there’s no ‘lucky man’._

_I’m too busy for a relationship right now._

_I’m single._

She wonders if those words stung him just as much as they have stung her.

.

.

.

_late in the night, the city's asleep_  
 _your love is a secret I'm hoping, dreaming, dying to keep_  
 _change my priorities_  
 _the taste of your lips is my idea of luxury_

So, he’s gone for one week, and the first time that she hears from him whilst he’s away is the fourth day, making it exactly seven days since they last communicated. It’s late – almost one in the morning – and she has been attempting to sleep for some time now, but was unable to find peace for a while.

The sound of her phone buzzing gives her the answer as to why.

Her heart betrays her, pounding and racing and skipping simultaneously in her chest as she practically leaps into a sitting position and grabs wildly in the dark for the phone on the bedside table. The sight of his name flashing up on the screen has her fighting a grin, and Beth feels like a love-sick teenager.

But this is the reaction that she has to him; no matter how much she tries to withhold it, no matter how much she tries to resist the constant pull, she just cannot shake him.

Still, there is a part of her – a miniscule part, really – that isn’t feeling all that impressed about the fact that Daryl is ringing at this unsociable hour, and a stubborn part of her briefly considers ignoring the call.

But that though disappears from her mind almost as quickly as it came, and with a deep breath, the blonde found herself answering the call on the third ring.

“Hey,” she says, hoping to sound as casual and normal as possible, but knowing instantly that she has failed miserably to do so.

If only to make matters worse, Beth can practically _hear_ him smiling down the line.

“Hey,” he responds, and all that it takes for her shoulders to sag and her body to relax is the sound of his voice.

When Beth started this _thing_ with Daryl Dixon – the _boxer_ , the bad boy, the everything-that-she-shouldn’t-want older man – she had told herself that she would play it cool. That she would be calm, and collected, and relaxed. That she wouldn’t be too dependent or needy or emotional.

Looking back, she realises now that she just didn’t want to scare him off.

Now, she’s not so sure that she could.

“I’ve missed you, Daryl,” she says, the words escaping past her lips before she could stop them or even really think about what it was that she was saying. It shocks her to no end, and her eyes widen in surprise that she really just said anything like that to him.

He has said it to her before – once, when he was drunk; when he climbed the back of her house and crept onto the balcony, sneaking past her security in a way that had her questioning whether she needed to invest some money into new people who wouldn’t let a grown man get past them so easily.

But that had been different. It had been late, and they hadn’t seen each other in a few weeks. There had been a build up of tension which had been semi-released by their kiss in the closet – or whatever the hell it was – but still needed _more_ , and to top it all off, he had been pretty tipsy.

This time, though, he’s sober.

“I’ve missed you too, girl.”

.

.

.

_is the end of all the endings?_  
 _my broken bones are mending_  
 _with all these nights we're spending_

It is another ten days until Beth finally has the chance to see Daryl once again.

For a short while, the blonde had considered that it might be slightly easier to be able to sneak around with him unnoticed now that Maggie seemed to be becoming more and more preoccupied with Glenn, the driver (although she still wasn’t actually openly admitting to anyone that anything was going on between them), but it seemed as though Daryl was busier than he had been in a while after his last huge win. Beth understood that he wasn’t exactly given much of a choice in the matter when it came to accepting interviews and paid opportunities – after all, she was in the exact same boat herself – but it didn’t change the fact that she felt disappointed, and that she missed his company terribly.

Nevertheless, she tried not to dwell on that too much. After all, the blonde knew that it would do her no good to think on it for too long.

It was late on a Tuesday night in September when Daryl finally managed to find the time to sneak over to her place wearing dark clothing and a baseball cap that discreetly hid his features. Despite being slightly concerned about the fact that she really should invest in some better security, the blonde couldn’t help the smile that grew across her face at the sight of him pulling himself onto her first-story bedroom porch.

Unable to resist the burning need that was clawing within her, Beth practically pounced towards him and pressed her lips urgently against his before he could even open his mouth to greet her.

It was impossible _not_ to notice the way that he responded to her bold actions, and it was safe to say that she took him completely by surprise. Daryl’s whole body felt tense beneath the palms of her hands, but as she lifted them to tease the hair at the nape of his neck and eased her lips from his, he relaxed. Beth smiled as he chased her lips with his own, and she practically purred into his mouth when he kissed her back.

Far too much time had passed since they had been together, and Beth certainly didn’t want to waste a second longer. She began to step backwards into her bedroom, Daryl’s lips never leaving hers as he followed her lead into the room, his large hands coming to rest on her hips with a familiarity that made her heart pound impossibly faster.

Beth had such conflicting emotions towards him – she was angry and frustrated and disappointed and _sad_ as well as happy and relieved and _in love_ with this man. It was something that she had been coming to accept over the last few weeks, but it wasn’t something that she was prepared to discuss with him yet.

The last thing that she wanted to do was scare Daryl off.

So instead, she invited him in with her open-mouthed kisses and her flushed skin and her needy hands. Beth smiled as he paused to fumble with the French doors that led out onto her porch – at least he had had the sense to think to shut them.

The time that their lips were apart was brief, and Beth cupped his stubbed jaw in her palms as she kissed him once more, the fire and the passion and the _need_ that she felt within her core portrayed through her actions as heavily as she could. She was positive that he understood that this was no time to tease her, nor was it a time to take things slow, and the way he felt rock hard against her thigh encouraged her even more.

The next time that their kiss was interrupted, it was because Beth pulled away to break it, and the groan that escaped from Daryl’s lips caused the hairs on the back of her neck to stand alert. Moving swiftly, Beth took a step backwards from him to give herself some space as she reached down to remove her baby blue camisole. As her hands reached the hem and jerked to pull the item over her head as quickly as she could, Daryl’s hands suddenly gripped at her wrists and the surprise of it caused Beth to be still.

She looked up at him almost immediately, both of their chests rising and falling quickly as they panted loudly. Beth tried her best to read whatever it was that he was silently telling her with his pupil-blown eyes, but she quickly grew frustrated with herself when she wasn’t able to decipher what it was that he wanted – but couldn’t find the words – to say.

Beth opened her mouth to ask him what he wanted, but before she had chance to even let out a breath, Daryl was kissing her again. The blonde had thought their kiss had been urgent before, but he well and truly picked up the pace this time, and it was only a few more seconds until he had her practically pinned beneath him on her king-sized bed.

Moaning beneath the weight of him, Beth rocked her pelvis in an upwards thrust, feeling the hard length of him through her silk shorts and his joggers. She practically _hissed_ at the sensation as her clit pulsated, and she repeated her movements again, searching for friction. The blonde could feel her panties quickly dampen, and her cheeks burned red as an animalistic growl came from him.

It wasn’t always like this between them. Not quite so desperate, and needy. It wasn’t as though there was any particular rush – as far as she was aware, there was nowhere either of them needed to be right now, and so they had enough time to be able to spend enjoying themselves.

But she didn’t want to spend too much time – not when so long had already passed since she had been with him last. And from the way that he responded to her hurried kisses, Beth was pretty damn sure that Daryl felt the same.

“Need you,” she murmured, her lips brushing against his as she spoke. “Please.”

That was all that he needed to hear, and quicker than she could believe, Daryl has tugged his joggers so that they fell at his needs and pulled her silk shorts and panties towards the left side, granting himself access to the place that she wanted him most.

The feeling of the cool air hitting where he had exposed her to his eyes felt nothing short of wonderful, and Beth whined in longing, squinting her eyes tightly shut. It had been far, _far_ too long since the blonde had felt him inside of her, and that’s what she wanted - _now_.

As though he could read her mind – and heaven knows, perhaps he really could – Daryl didn’t waste any time in rocking back towards her and lining himself up against her entrance. The feel of his head rubbing against her had Beth moaning louder, and she opened her eyes to look up at him whilst bringing her arms up to wrap around his neck.

They were both still breathing heavily, and Daryl’s lips twitched slightly as he looked directly into her lustful eyes.

“You want it?” he asked, his voice low and quiet, and Beth nodded her head quickly. “You gotta say it, Beth,” he told her, rubbing his throbbing cock against her so that the length of him brushed against her clit. His actions caused her abdomen to tense, and Beth’s eyes widened slightly as she stared back up at him, afraid to blink on the chance that she might miss something.

“I want it, Daryl,” she breathed, her voice sultrier than she has ever heard it be before. “I want you. Now. _Please_.”

No sooner had the last, pleading word fell from her mouth was Daryl pushing into her in one swift, forceful movement, and the sensation of him filling her dripping heat was enough to cause Beth’s eyes to droop shut and a loud groan to escape her.

The blonde knew that it wouldn’t take long to come to her peak, and when he tilted his pelvis in a way that caused beautiful friction so that he rubbed against her clit each time that he pounded into her, Beth lost all coherent thought. Words and sounds fell from her lips without her permission, and they seemed to spur him on even more, Daryl’s hips snapping against her own without remorse.

“Fuck,” she breathed, and she heard him chuckle before he buried his face in the crook of her neck. Beth knew that he loved to make her curse in these moments – knew that it wasn’t something she typically did, or even _liked_ to do, but the words always seemed fitting whenever he made her feel this way.

Spurred on by the feel of him nipping and kissing at her neck and clavicles, Beth snuck her hand between their bodies and found her clit, her body twitching as she rubbed against the erect bundle of nerves.

It was his name that tumbled from her lips next, over and over again, and his thrusts increased in speed at a rate that she would have thought to be impossible as he responded to her moans and unspoken commands. Beth could feel him grow even harder within her, and she knew that she had just seconds before he came, and a whine escaped her lips as she continued to rub furious, small circles around her clit –

Daryl came inside of her with a grunt, and the feel of him emptying himself within her was enough to send her over the edge, and Beth had tears in her eyes as she came _hard_. Her legs trembled violently as she gushed around him, their combined fluids dripping onto the sheets beneath them, and Beth squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to prevent the tears from falling as she came down from her high.

After a few seconds, Daryl withdrew himself from her, and Beth opened her eyes once more to find him looking down at her. With their chests still heaving, Daryl moved so that his forehead rested against hers, his eyes boring into her own.

After a few seconds of trembling underneath his intense gaze, the realisation that she had practically pounced on him the moment that she saw him came across her, and the blonde was unable to hold back the slight giggle that escaped from her lips whilst her cheeks turned a deep shade of crimson.

As if he understood without having to ask what was funny, Daryl smirked, too, before he moved himself up ever so slightly to press a tender kiss to her forehead. The gentle action took her by surprise, although Beth attempted to keep her expression neutral so not to startle or discourage him.

“Hey,” he murmured, his eyes meeting hers once again.

Beth grinned brightly at his greeting. “Hey yourself,” she said, reaching her arms around the back of his neck once more to pull him against her for a chaste kiss.

.

.

.

_and all at once, you are the one I have been waiting for_  
 _king of my heart, body and soul_


End file.
